New Gods of North America.

Chapter 658 Authorization
The next day, the detective agency began organizing onboarding training for the new members.

Because of the large number of people this time, Wayne tried to make the onboarding training process more formal, hoping to reach a relatively formal consensus while there were many people.

On the first morning, Doug, Willie, and Connor were assigned to substitute teaching, introducing the detective agency's overview and basic requirements. In the afternoon, shooting tests and other assessments were conducted. On the second morning, a tour was arranged to familiarize them with the terrain and the division of labor and procedures of each department. Lunch was eaten at a restaurant. In the afternoon, they went to the arena, which included an internal arena for new members and a ranking test for veteran agents.

On the third day, we started working in groups, observing and participating in the detective agency's current work alongside the agents. The rest mainly involved initial teamwork and mutual learning.
Anyway, we'll try to confirm the results within a few days, and then hold a big meeting to officially welcome the new employees. As for professional training and instruction, that's something to do after we start working.

Wayne's long-standing idea of ​​"pre-employment screening" still lacks the feasibility for strict enforcement.
Fortunately, the members who came this time were all recruited and were not completely strangers to each other. Moreover, there were many veteran detectives from Kansas City in the detective agency. With cross-verification, it was not too difficult to obtain a relatively accurate overview.

So even though it's still half-cooked, at least it can now be formally incorporated into the standardized process.
Even if it's a bit formalistic, it can still be documented and archived.

Before Doug started the class, the partners showed up briefly, exchanged a few words, and discreetly confirmed that the class was proceeding smoothly before going about their own business.
When Wayne went to City Hall to inquire about the progress with Tax Officer Quinn, he had already seen the executive order signed by the mayor.

These days, city halls in big cities are, in some ways, not much different from town governments in small towns.
With existing city ordinances as a basis, the mayor can actually decide some matters on his own. As for the approval process, it's basically just a matter of having clerks go through each office. When someone wants to push things forward, the efficiency is higher than Wayne imagined.

However, the political acumen of these seasoned professionals should not be underestimated. The executive order didn't actually mention gangs at all; the official reasons were "to verify the historical collection of relevant taxes and fees in the dock area" and "to pursue and punish individuals and behaviors that undermine the consensus on urban governance."
Wayne, who was both volunteering and being drafted, was given the additional title of "Special Investigator." In short, he was a temporary worker with a limited term and scope of investigation, but no actual power to collect taxes. If he caused trouble, he had to deal with it himself or take the blame, much like a lowly soldier collecting tolls outside a city gate in ancient times.

The executive order that Quinn, the tax officer, showed Wayne was actually "several copies," and he believed the most important one was the last one:

"The city hall has no additional budget for this, so it will not pay you for your participation. However, in order to motivate the general public, the mayor has decided to set aside a portion of the recovered taxes as a reward for actively maintaining city governance—this executive order will not be publicized, but it will not be a secret either."

Wayne glanced at it briefly, and also glanced at the other clauses that Quinn, the tax officer, hadn't pointed out.

Well... the city hall departments and officials who made contributions will also receive a share of the rewards. Roughly speaking, the percentage is actually higher. In addition, they will have the opportunity to receive honorary awards from the city hall.

Wayne had no objection. The detective agency didn't intend to make money from this; they were just hoping to recoup some of their food expenses. As for the portion taken by the officials, it wouldn't have gone into Wayne's pocket anyway, but at least he wouldn't be without a voice in the city hall.
So he simply nodded: "Maintaining order in the city is the shared responsibility of every citizen."

At this point, the matter has entered the implementation phase.

Tax Officer Quinn had his own thoughts on the matter: "Those gangsters who attacked the cathedral, and the two monks who were attacked with you, both have some connections. Given the right reasons, probably no one will publicly oppose this."

"However, tax issues are always sensitive, and many gentlemen in the city will likely be following the progress of your investigation. You'd better limit your investigation to the gangs actually involved in the attack—as a private investigator, you probably know more about the gangs in the dock area than I do."

They're all demons and monsters that escaped from the homes of various gods, I know.

However, Wayne's intention was to muddy the waters. Did he really think those shares and honors were so easy to obtain? "I will control the scope of the impact. But to appear fair on the surface, if we receive any reports about other gangs, we will still investigate those gangs as well. If any unfavorable rumors circulate during this period, we may need the city hall's help to clarify and explain."

Tax Officer Quinn nodded in agreement. "Don't worry. It's all for the prosperity and development of the city. We know what to do."

That's enough; we can delay it as long as we can.
While we can't expect someone to hold up the sky if it falls, at least for now we still hold the title of justice, and without provoking public anger, we can at least somewhat prevent "open attacks."

……

After leaving the city hall, I went to the cathedral.

The newly appointed treasurer, Warren Leitcher, told Wayne that the project proposal didn't seem to be ready yet, and the collaboration between the detective agency and the state monastery to produce cheese might have to wait a while.

Wayne wasn't there to discuss that matter. He inquired about the injured monk's condition and then told him about the city hall's administrative order.

Warren Leitcher's reply to Wayne was a platitude: "If it's just an investigation, I think His Excellency the Bishop would support it. However, the Cathedral does not want the previously stable situation in the dock area to become unstable, nor does it want to see any extraordinary individuals using their abilities against ordinary people in violation of regulations."

Wayne nodded repeatedly, and also informed the detective agency that they were currently recruiting new members.
This guy clearly already had some prior knowledge. "Those are the unfamiliar faces who arrived yesterday, right? Your detective agency's license is still valid. Please remember to file it in time."

At this point, Warren Leitcher added, "To be honest, I originally thought there would be some old acquaintances from the cathedral inside."

Wayne pondered for a moment and figured the other party was probably trying to find out the whereabouts of Peter Clementsa, that fat man, and his men in black.
The waters here seem quite deep, and Wayne doesn't plan to get involved for the time being. He just smiled when he heard this, "The new members are all devout believers of the church. If given the opportunity, they might become familiar faces to the monks of the cathedral."

It was confirmed that there was nothing unusual about the city hall and the cathedral.
Before sunset that day, a large poster bearing Wayne's name was pasted next to the church's notice offering a reward for the rat's tail:
"In accordance with the city hall's administrative order, we are now publicly soliciting information on malicious evasion of fees and concealment of income in the dock area. Compensation will be discussed in person."

As for more practical things like bar promotion, they'll just have to wait to "soften" their intelligence team members to take their place.

Wayne only remembered this when he was picking up the "red armband" members along the way back to the workshop.
Oh no, I forgot to include "arithmetic" in the evaluation of new members. I can't possibly check everything myself, can I?

Or should we bring little Emma from Georgeburg? In terms of mathematics, many agents look like children compared to her.

Seth Grayson, that bright student, is graduating soon too. If you have time, come over together.
The law and taxation are "investigations" in a completely different direction, and they can be deadly without drawing blood.

(End of this chapter)